To become a king and a magician

(I'll do my best!)

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka and Merry were talking and preparing to leave the temple, a soldier suddenly rushed in from outside: "Excuse me for interrupting your pleasant conversation, Your Majesty."

"Who's chatting happily with whom?! Are you blind?!"

Gilgamesh immediately rebuked him.

"If there's anything urgent, report it immediately!"

"Yes! Someone is rapidly approaching Uruk. Judging from the appearance, it is one of the pillars of the Three Goddesses Alliance, the goddess Ishtar!"

The Alliance of Three Goddesses!

Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes widened slightly, while Merry chuckled and shook her shoulder.

(Oh, Ritsuka, it seems the chance to talk to Gilgamesh has come knocking on your door.)

(Hmm...is this too fast...?)

(No, no, keep trying!)

Upon hearing this report from his throne, Gilgamesh couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Why is it that stupid goddess again? Is she an incorrigible idiot? How much trouble is she going to cause me... No, this might be an opportunity—you know what to do, right, Holy Sword Wielder?"

"Is it alright to start like this?" Natsukawa Tiger asked with a smile. "Then let's just say he's the guardian deity of Uruk?"

"Ha! What kind of guardian is a goddess who only knows how to cause trouble? Besides, she has never been the one to protect Uruk. With me here, Uruk doesn't need to rely on gods for protection!"

That's exactly what Gilgamesh would say.

"Just to be on the safe side, if I cause any damage to this temple later, I shouldn't have to pay compensation, right?"

"As long as you do something to my satisfaction, that's fine."

"Row."

Upon arriving outside the temple, Natsukawa Tora looked up at the sky. With his eyesight, he could clearly see a golden streak of light rapidly flying towards Uruk.

Looking at that familiar face, Natsukawa Tora sighed softly: "Speaking of which, it's been quite a few years since I last saw Tohsaka. I haven't seen him since I moved out of the apartment and returned to Japan four years ago... I'll visit the Tohsaka family next time I go back to Japan."

"Now—"

With the activation of the "Imagination Manifestation," Natsukawa Tora focused intently on the golden light rapidly approaching from the sky, concentrating on the future a few seconds later. Then, aiming at the spot where the figure was bound to pass, he swung his specially made baseball bat with all his might!

"Duang——————!"

With a muffled thud, the baseball bat struck the target's head with perfect accuracy.

A scantily clad, black-haired goddess suddenly collapsed at Xia Chuanhu's feet.

Natsukawa Tora turned around and gave Gilgamesh a thumbs up: "Is this alright, King Gilgamesh?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Gilgamesh's hearty laughter echoed throughout the entire Tower of Gods.

9. The Household Accounts of Ishtar

My head hurts so much.

This was Ishtar's first thought after regaining consciousness.

what happened?

She remembered that she had planned to go to Uruk, as usual, to thoroughly humiliate that arrogant maniac and take a stroll, but just as she was about to reach the Divine Tower...

(By the way, I was hit hard on the head by someone I don't know!)

Recalling what happened back then, Ishtar's spirits immediately lifted! And then, an unnamed fire erupted within her!

How dare they attack her, the mistress of heaven, the greatest goddess on this land! They're really asking for it! I pray she never sees the attacker again, or I'll see how she blasts him to pieces!

"Oh, you're awake."

As Ishtar was thinking this, the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Natsukawa Torata looking at her with a smile.

Then--

"Ugh, ugh, ugh~~~~~!"

Like a girl who is terrified of insects suddenly seeing one, Ishtar's expression turned deathly pale! Her body even trembled violently uncontrollably!

"W-Why are you here?!"

The exclamation that burst from Ishtar's mouth startled everyone inside the tower.

Gilgamesh became slightly intrigued: "Oh? You know this silly goddess? Holy Sword Wielder."

“No, this is my first time meeting the goddess, but…” Natsukawa Torama looked at the person who looked almost exactly like Rin Tohsaka, “I know someone who looks a lot like her, so you could say we know each other, but it’s only one-sided. I’m a little surprised that the goddess knows me.”

Surely the girl Ishtar is currently possessing isn't actually Rin Tohsaka herself? Natsukawa Torato remembers that she originally possessed a girl from the Age of Gods who resembled Rin Tohsaka.

Moreover, Rin Tohsaka couldn't possibly be here.

however--

"What do you mean it's surprising to meet you? It would be strange if I didn't know you!"

Ishtar glared at Natsukawa Torata with annoyance: "Putting aside all the knowledge that was instilled into you when you were summoned, this body is a girl who is destined for you. Just now, her personal consciousness was so strong that it even overshadowed mine for a moment!"

"Huh?"

Is the girl herself destined to be with Natsukawa Tora?

That means...

"Rin?" Natsukawa Torama's eyes widened in surprise. "You... how did you end up in the Age of Gods?"

That's the question—

"enough!"

Just as Ishtar was about to speak, Gilgamesh abruptly interrupted, "This is where I conduct state affairs, not your living room for casual chatter! If you have something to say, go outside the temple! Your five minutes are up!"

"Wait—you exhibitionist arrogance, how dare you talk to me like that?!"

Just as Ishtar was about to stand up and start arguing with Gilgamesh, she collapsed again before she could even get up.

"Ouch...who put chains on my hands and feet?"

"I tied you up precisely because of this time. There's no place in my schedule to deal with you. Hurry up and take this stupid goddess away, Holy Sword Wielder."

"Yes, yes~~~"

With a hum of agreement, Natsukawa Tiger bent down and hoisted Ishtar onto his back, carrying her out of the temple. Seeing this, Mely and the others quickly followed.

And after that—

"Siduri, what just happened will be recorded in the royal log later. Just say, 'The king laughed so hard his abs twitched'—it's rare to see that silly goddess so humiliated."

"Haa."

Siduri could only sigh helplessly at this capricious king who showed no reverence for the gods.

——————————————————————————————————————

Outside the Divine Tower.

After stepping outside, Natsukawa Torama put Ishtar down and unlocked the chains on her hands and feet. He asked, "Is this enough...? So, goddess Ishtar, is the girl you possess really the Rin Tohsaka I know?"

"Yes, at least that's the kind of memory I have."

After stretching her limbs, Ishtar nodded: "I descended to this land as a pseudo-Servant. Judging from the circumstances of my descent, it seems that this body stumbled upon this place by accident for some reason. After being attacked by a magical beast and almost dying, it summoned me by chance and possessed me."

Did they come to Uruk for some reason?

After frowning and thinking for a moment, Natsukawa Torato looked at Meryl and asked, "Did you do this?"

Why would you suddenly ask about someone else?

Merry spread her hands and made an innocent expression: "Although I often do bad things, which has led to a bad reputation and being suspected is nothing to say, but this time about Rin, I really have nothing to do with it. In fact, I was quite surprised when I found out that the goddess was possessed by Rin."

"What? You've been here for over half a year, and this is your first time meeting the goddess Ishtar?"

"Of course, unlike the goddess who flies around freely in the air every day, I don't have such abundant energy. I have a lot of things to do, and you know what I mean."

At this point, Meryl winked at Natsukawa Tora: "So you'd better treat me well tonight, or I'll go on strike tomorrow!"

"Are you threatening me...? But I'll listen to you this time. I'll come find you tonight."

"No, no, no, they'll come looking for you. Remember to send out the little clothes first."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mashu, and Akuta Hinako could already imagine what would happen inside the Chaldea embassy tonight—would it be better for them, as outsiders, to move out?

Meanwhile, Ishtar seemed to have remembered something bad. As soon as Natsukawa and Meryl finished speaking, she sat on Maanna and quickly flew into the sky.

Although she herself didn't quite understand, her body was sending her a strong warning, telling her that she absolutely could not stay with that man any longer, or he would devour her completely, leaving not even a bone behind!

(Just how afraid are you of this Holy Sword Wielder...?)

After silently criticizing the body, Ishtar flew into the air: "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now—by the way, your name is Natsukawa Tora, right? I'll remember this blow today. No matter what your relationship is with this body, I'll definitely give you a good whack on the head later!"

"I'm always here for you—and just a reminder, remember to pay me back what you owe me."

"Who owes you money?!"

10. Nighttime durability A++ and durability E

Reunion with Rin Tohsaka in Uruk Kamishiro.

This is good news for Natsukawa Torara, although her relationship with Tohsaka Rin is just so-so. At most, she would train her so hard in self-defense class that she couldn't eat dinner, and she would suffer from sleep deprivation and mental exhaustion the next day.

In Rin Tohsaka's eyes, Natsukawa Torama must be a demon with horns on his head who can breathe fire. In addition, because she usually spends a lot of money practicing gem magic, she often borrows money from Natsukawa Torama, or uses his connections in the mineral department to buy some low-quality gems at low prices.

In the end, the two of them were practically in a creditor-debtor relationship. This was partly the reason why Rin Tohsaka left the Camelot apartment and returned to Japan—living under the same roof as a creditor every day was indeed unacceptable for a debtor, let alone someone as proud and arrogant as Rin Tohsaka.

As a result, apart from the monthly interest payment, Natsukawa Tora has not contacted Tohsaka Rin again. Calls to her go dead, she's not home when he visits during the New Year, and she avoids him even when he tries to find her.

It made him look like a debt collector.

"Well, at least we know Rin is alright now. Although we don't know why she came to this singularity, it's better that she's alright, right?"

After watching Ishtar leave, Meryl clapped her hands with a smile: "Well then, it's about time to get down to business. Putting Tiger aside, Ritsuka, Mashu, and Akuta, you are all worthless in that king's eyes right now. This can't go on. Without that king's assistance, the repair work on this singularity will be quite difficult."

Gilgamesh's attitude just now shows that he only took Natsukawa Tora seriously the whole time. As for Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, he can't be said to be completely indifferent, but he can only be said to be not very concerned.